Today we Franciscans celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels. The little church in which St. Francis founded the Order of Friars Minor was so named. Today that little church sits under the dome of the great basilica in the city of the same name, nestled at the foot of the mountain on which Assisi is built. Thousands of pilgrims will come to confess in that basilica today as this...
Today we are treated to two parables, similar yet different. Jesus speaks of two different treasures. One man is seeking the treasure actively. Another simply finds it, apparently serendipitously. The reaction of both men is similar. They rejoice. They sell what they have. They purchase the treasure.
Finding something for which we are looking or stumbling upon something we knew...
By coincidence, this July 30 when we celebrate the memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus (Peter the Golden-Worded), the Gospel relates Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. St. Peter was known for his short homilies delivered in clear language. Perhaps he was following the example we find in St. Matthew's Gospel in this instance.
As is always the case with...
As a former English teacher, I have come to regard skill in writing about characters as an important part of narrative writing. Characterization not only paints a picture in the reader's mind's eye; it also moves the story along, advances the plot and makes the narrative more tangible. When books are turned into movies, the author's ability to flesh out a character is forever changed. Our...